Garment hanger lock



Aug. 7, 1962 A. R. NEUENFELDT GARMENT HANGER LOCK Filed Marian 1, 1961 INVENTOR ALBERT R.NEUENFELDT lull ATTORNEYS United States 3,048,311 GARMENT HANGER LOCK Albert R. Nellenfeldt, Grafton, Wis. Filed Mar. 1, 1961, Ser. No. 92,587 7 Claims. (Cl. 223-85) This invention appertains to garment hangers and more particularly to a novel suspension means for the body of the hanger.

There has long been a recognized need for garment hangers which can be effectively associated with and suspended from a clothesline incident to the drying or airing of garments, such as shirts, blouses, suits, dresses and the like. Hangers with ordinary open suspension hooks are easily displaced from a thin clothesline, through wind and persons coming into forcible contact with the hangers, and the like. Likewise, where a number of hangers are placed on the same line, the line tends to sag and the hangers slide on the line and bunch together, hindering the effective drying and airing of the garments on the hangers.

It has been proposed to provide some means for closing the open suspension hook when the same is placed on a line, to prevent the accidental displacement of the hanger from the line, but no means to my knowledge has'been provided for preventing both the displacement of the hanger from the line and creeping or sliding of the hanger longitudinally of the line.

One of the primary objects of my invention is to provide a novel means carried by the suspension hook of a garment hanger for effectively engaging the clothesline, whereby not only will the hanger be prevented from accidental displacement from the line, but whereby the hook will effectively engage the line so that travelling of the hanger longitudinally on the line will be eliminated, to efiectively prevent bunching of a plurality of hangers on the same line.

Another salient object of my invention is to provide the hanger hook with a series of resilient convolutions for gripping and kinking the line, whereby to eliectively prevent the travel of the hook, and consequently the hanger longitudinally of the line, with a means for holding the line against displacement from the convolutions, whereby accidental removal of the hanger from a line will also be prevented.

A further important object of my invention is to provide an attachment for hangers for efiectively gripping a clothesline, which will be simple and economical to manufacture, one which can be placed upon the market at a reasonable cost and one which can be readily manipulated by lay persons.

A still further important object of my invention is to provide a garment hanger having a hook with a series of resilient convolutions for gripping and kinking the line therebetween, .and a spring urged latch member movable through the convolutions and for locking engagement with one of the convolutions for closing the convolutions after a line has been inserted therein, so as to effectively lock the hanger on the line against movement in any direction thereon.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and formation of parts, as will be hereinafter more specifically described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing a plurality of garment hangers constructed in accordance with my invention associated with, and locked on a clothesline;

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view of my garment hanger, showing the same ready to be associated with a clothesline, the line being shown in transverse section, parts of the hanger body being shown broken away;

FIGURE 3 is .a view similar to FIGURE 2, but showing the hanger placed on the line and with the line gripped between the convolutions forming a part of the hook of the hanger, with the latch in its operative position for holding the line in the convolutions and against displacement therefrom;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of the hanger showing the same locked on a clothesline, and

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing another form of means for anchoring the spring for the latch in place. i p

Referring to the drawing in detail, wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the letter H generally indicates a clothes hanger constructed in accordance with one preferred form of my invention. The hanger H includes a body it on which garments G can be placed. This body it can be constructed in difierent manners and from different materials, such as wire, or as shown, Wood. The body 10 has secured thereto a suspension hook ll,- preterably formed from wire of a desired diameter. The hook 111 includes a shank 12 which is anchored to the garment hanger body in any approved fashion, and a circular shaped bill 13. This bill 13 can be of a size equivalent to the size employed in garment hangers now on the market, and hence, the bill if of a size, so that the same can be hung over a closet pole or hook. Obviously, as a clothesline is of a diameter much less than clothes poles, the difficulty of hanging a hanger with such a hook on a clothesline is readily apparent.

In accordance with my invention, I coil the upper portion of the bill of the hook 13 to provide a series of convolutions 14 similar to a coil spring. The convolutions 14 possess some resiliency and hence the same can be spread apart by forcing an object therebetween, such as a clothesline L. The shape of the convolutions themselves can be varied to suit certainconditions, or the desires of a manufacturer. With the plurality of convolutions formed intermediate the ends of the bill 13, and preferably at the upper portion thereof, it is obvious that a clothesline L can be inserted between selected convolutions, as best shown in FIGURE 2. With the line inserted between the selected convolutions (see FIGS. 3 and 4), the line is linked and somewhat compressed and hence, the hook or the convolutions thereof effectively grip the line and prevent the travel of the hook, and its hanger body longitudinally of the line.

In conjunction with the hook and its convolutions 14, I provide a latch 15 for insertion longitudinally through the convolutions 14 of the coil and for engaging under the line and to hold the line in the convolutions so that accidental displacement of the hook from ofr of the line is prevented.

This latch 15 can take difierent forms, but as illustrated the same is preferably formed from'wire of a lighter gauge than the suspension hook 11. One end of the latch 15 is bent to provide an eye 16 for a purpose, which will be laterset forth, and the latch intermediate its ends is folded back upon itself to provide an upstanding finger piece 17. The wire in advance of the finger piece 17 is provided with a substantially straight shank can be either of the pull or push type. As illustrated, the same is of the pull type and can be a coil spring. In the forming of the device the coil spring is slipped over the hook and the lower end thereof is anchored in place, as at 21. The upper end thereof is provided with an eye 22 which extends through the eye 16 of the latch 15. With the spring 20 in place, the same normally pulls on the latch, as shown in FIGURE 2, and when the latch is in its operative position with its latch hook 19 engaged with a convolution, the spring pulls on the latch hook and holds the same in place.

The lower end of the spring can be anchored in place in different fashions, and as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, a thin plate 23 can be utilized. This plate is provided with spaced openings 24 and the suspension hook 11 is slipped through these openings 24 and the plate is positioned at the bight portion 25 of the hook, namely, at the juncture of the shank 12 of the suspension hook with the bill of the hook. The lower end of the spring is provided with an eye 26 and this eye is associated with the plate 23 by inserting the same through one of the openings 24.

As shown in FIGURE 5, the spring can be stretched to a greater extent, or a longer spring can be utilized so that the eye 26 will be positioned over the body of the hanger. A metal stitch or staple 27 can then be driven into the hanger body and through the eye 26. This forms an economical and quick means for securing the lower end of the spring in position.

Various other changes in details may be made without departing from the spirit or the scope of this invention, but what I claim as new is:

1. A garment hanger designed for association with a clothesline including a body for receiving a garment and an open suspension hook carried by the body, said hook being coiled intermediate its ends and adjacent to the upper portion thereof to provide a series of spaced resilient convolutions, adjacent convolutions being adapted to receive and grip a clothesline therebetween, and a releasable latch insertable longitudinally through the convolutions and below the line placed between the convolutions to close the space between the convolutions for holding the line in said convolutions against displacement.

2. A garment hanger designed for association with a clothesline, as defined in claim 1, and said latch including a manipulating finger piece, a shank movable longitudinally through the convolutions and a latch hook for engaging over an end convolution.

3. A garment hanger designed for association with a clothesline as defined in claim 2, and spring means for normally urging the latch in one direction with its latch hook in an operative engaged position with a convolution.

4. A garment hanger designed for association with a clothesline as defined in claim 3, and said spring means being a contractile spring coiled about the suspension hook and having its lower end anchored in place and its upper end secured to the latch.

5. A garment hanger designed for association with a clothesline comprising a body for receiving a garment and an open wire suspension hook secured to the upper end of the body, said wire suspension hook having formed intermediate its ends and at its upper portion a coil defining a plurality of spaced resilient convolutions for receiving a clothesline between certain of said convolutions, and a removable latch for holding said line between convolutions against displacement, including a shank insertable longitudinally through the convolutions and below a line inserted between the convolutions and a latch hook thereon for engaging over an end convolution, a contractile coil spring fitted on said hook having one end secured to the latch and its lower end anchored in place for pulling the latch away from the convolutions and with the latch hook in engagement with a convolution.

6. A garment hanger designed for association with a clothesline as defined in claim 5, and said anchoring means including a plate secured on said suspension hook with the lower end of the spring connected therewith.

7. A garment hanger designed for association with a clothesline as defined in claim 5, and said means for anchoring the lower end of the spring in place including an eye formed on the spring fitted against the body of the hanger and a staple driven through the eye and into the body of the hanger.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,690,614 Bower Nov. 6, 1928 2,151,964 Gay Mar. 28, 1939 2,210,490 Leonardson Aug. 6, 1940 2,558,910 Peacock July 3, 1951 2,980,383 Anderson et a1. Apr. 18, 1961 

